Installation for beach erosion prevention



June 6, 1967 D. J. ARPIN 3,323,310

INSTALLATION FOR BEACH EROSION PREVENTION Filed July 14, 1964 FIG. 5

MEAN LOW WATER LEVEL\ l3 INVENTOR. DONALD J. AR

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,323,310 INSTALLATION FOR BEACH EROSION PREVENTION Donald J. Arpin, 161 NW. 33rd St., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33309 Filed July 14, 1964, Ser. No. 382,488 1 Claim. (Cl. 61-3) This invention relates to systems for building up beach areas.

It is well known that certain waves and currents tend to carry sand in suspension along or away from the foreshore causing considerable erosion and beach damage. The present invention provides means for building up beach areas by resisting such wave action and instead, effectively settling the suspended sand in desired areas. This is accomplished by employing what may be considered to be artificial or simulated reef structures as will hereinafter be made clear.

The simulated reef of this invention comprises an elongated structure which may be of concrete or the like and which may be composed of individual units sideby-side to make the structure as long as desired. More than one structure may further be employed. Each unit has embedded therein a large number of discrete or separated, extending rods, tubes, or wands of flexible material such as polyethylene plastic or any such plastic material. The extending rods present no obstruction or danger to either boats or bathers while they tend to intercept the sand and cause it to settle out of suspension underwater so as to build up deposits in the nature of shoulders. Such sholders will in fact lessen future wave action and will assist in further build up.

The invention will be further understood from the following description and figures in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side, diagrammatic view illustrating one composite elongated structure constructed according to this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a front view facing the beach and showing two parallel structures; and

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged perspective view of an individual unit from which the structures are bult.

Each individual unit 10 may be fabricated of a material heavier than water such as of concrete or steel or the like. The central portion or base 11 of a representative unit may be about feet long, 2 feet wide, and about 6 inches thick. In order to encourage the unit in settling itself firmly into the ocean bed, projecting side flanges or toes 12 are provided, the flanges tapering downwardly and outwardly. A central rib may also be formed on the underside of the unit if further stability is desired. Of course, the dimensions given above are purely representative and may obviously be considerably varied.

A large number of vertical rods or tubes 13 are embedded in rows in the base of each unit and extend upwardly therefrom. These rods may be of any flexible plastic material whether polyethylene or other flexible material such as fiber glass rods of conventional fabrication. They may be solid, hollow tubes, or flattened wands. In any case they act as flexible reeds. The rods 13 are embedded for about two inches and will extend upwardly from about two feet to about three feet or more as will hereinafter be explained.

A series of individual units 10 are disposed side-by- 'ice side so that an elongated structure 15 is formed which projects into the ocean, perpendicularly to the beach or foreshore B. For example, a structure 15 may comprise up to 20 or more units depending upon the desired length of the structure. Further, a second elongated structure 16 may project parallel to structure 15 and may be spaced therefrom any desired distance, as for example 50 feet. These parallel structures will form a system to protect any desired expanse of beach.

The units 10 which are forwardly of the high tide line are preferably, but not necessarily, buried in the foreshore with a portion of the rods 13 likewise buried while they may project above the foreshore as illustrated in FIGURE 1. FIGURE 1 shows that the water may leave most of the rods of the foreshore units exposed but it will also rise so as to cover completely about half of the foreshore units shown in FIGURE 1.

An important aspect of this invention is the length of the rods 13. Thus, referring to FIGURE 1, the foreshore units, or those disposed forwardly of the water line, have shorter rods, such rods extending upwardly only about two feet. The succeeding units will have higher rods, commensurately with the increasing depth of the water, and will generally reach about the mean low water level, the submerged units having rods which generally reach the same vertical level not withstanding the usual dropping away of the sea floor past the water edge.

Units 10 may be essentially modular in that their bases and flanges are of the same dimensions. Accordingly, they may be installed side-by-side and may join or abut each other with a lap joint. When deposited on the floor of the ocean or other body of water they will settle in the sand and the side flanges will render them secure and stable so as to resist undermining by forceful wave action, the sloping flanges being then effective in directing the currents over the bases 11 and through the rods 13.

The water currents, principally because of the littoral drift, will weave through and over the rods which will cause the sand particles in the water to settle around them forming shoulders on the ocean bed as above described. The rods will sway during the motion of the currents so as to whip through and more effectively settle the sand therefrom.

There has been shown what is now considered a preferred embodiment of the invention but it is obvious that numerous changes and omissions may be made without departing from its spirit. For example, while I have designated the rods as of flexible plastic material, they may be of any other suitable material and may be made to yield by any other conventional means, for example by base springs.

What is claimed is:

An installation for a body of water and for intercepting waves or currents and causing sand therefrom to settle, said installation comprising a rigid elongated structure of material heavier than water and disposed on the floor of the body of water, and a plurality of vertical rods embedded in said structure from one end of the structure to the other, said rods being flexible and being separated from each other above said structure, said structure comprising an aligned series of modular units disposed side-by-side to form the elongated structure, the height of said rods in succeeding units away from the water edge being greater whereby the top portions of all 3 4 the rods in said succeeding units are substantially at the 1,219,995 3/1917 Pedley 61-3 same vertical leevl although the water floor may gradually 2,000,311 5/ 1935 Wood et a1. 614 drop away relative to the water edge. 2,069,715 2/ 1937 Arpin 614 2,655,790 10/1953 Daley 61-3 References Cited 5 3,098,262 7/1963 Wisotzky 264-74 UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS 260,016 6/1882 Franklin 613 X 599 741 11 1959 Italy 419,121 1/1890 Henshaw 613 473,205 4/1892 Boeckh 6l3 EARL J. WITMER, Primary Examiner. 

